Editorial

Bold pastoral move

News that the Catholic Church is reaching out to disaffected Anglican congregations and making it easier for them to join the Catholic Church has stirred a whirlwind of commentary, criticism and interest. As both Anglican and Catholic leaders sort through the implications of this bold pastoral move, what can be agreed upon is that Pope Benedict XVI is intent on having a real and lasting impact on the Church he leads, and, by extension, the world it inhabits.

The pope’s new apostolic constitution allows convert Anglican communities to retain their liturgy and customs, including a married priesthood.

The move caught many people by surprise, including, reportedly, Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams. Leaders in the Catholic Church were also left with many questions as they await further explanation on what this constitution will entail.

It was greeted with some criticism from more liberal commentators. Some felt it was an act of sheep stealing, the Catholic Church taking advantage of Anglicanism’s disarray over women and/or gay priests and bishops. They also indulged in speculation that this provides a back door to a married Roman Catholic priesthood.

Many converts from the Anglican Communion who had already made the trek to Rome expressed appreciation for the decision, hoping that it will lead to a diffusion of Anglican liturgical practices and quality, perhaps benefitting Catholic practice.

While it is still too soon to draw any permanent conclusions until the apostolic constitution is reviewed and reflected upon, it is not too soon for a few observations:

First, all the overheated commentary notwithstanding, Pope Benedict approved what is essentially a pastoral gesture. Representatives of the Anglican Communion who have been increasingly distressed by its inability to stop the Episcopal Church in this country from ordaining practicing homosexuals as bishops and blessing same-sex unions have been pressing Rome for something like this proposed ordinariate. As Our Sunday Visitor reports this week, Rome was walking a fine line: trying to give Archbishop Williams time to act, trying to respond to the requests it was receiving, and hoping to make an announcement at some distance from the pope’s planned trip to England in 2010.

Second, the confusion in the Catholic Church about what this means regarding a celibate priesthood suggests that there is a need for some serious catechesis. Catholics of the Latin rite tend not to be well informed about Eastern-rite Catholics, who already have married priests but unmarried bishops and are in full communion with Rome. The Catholic Church is far more diverse than most Catholics are aware, both in terms of liturgy and in terms of canon law. Allowing married priests, or married deacons for that matter, does not undermine the teaching and practice of celibacy, but that point is not widely understood.

There is much that remains unknown about the Vatican’s decision. What will be the status of married Anglican bishops? If whole parishes join the new ordinariate, what will happen with the property and resources of that formerly Anglican parish? What will this new ordinariate look like in 50 years time?

None of these issues involve doctrinal accommodations, and what can be assured is that what the Church teaches, it will continue to teach, in season and out. Those new members from the Anglican church will be the first to recognize and take heart in this fact.

Editorial Board: Greg Erlandson, publisher; Msgr. Owen F. Campion, associate publisher; Beth McNamara, editorial director; John Norton, editor; Sarah Hayes, presentation editor